James Brown's Crisis Compass

Professor James Brown is an author, podcaster and ADHD expert. Burnout, and a Christmas day spent contemplating his own death led him to get a private ADHD diagnosis. The result helped him reframe his entire life. This is James Brown's Crisis Compass

Professor James Brown is an author, podcaster and ADHD expert. Burnout, and a Christmas day spent contemplating his own death led him to get a private ADHD diagnosis. The result helped him reframe his entire life. Expect an honest look at the realities of ADHD, bipolar, cyclothymia, binge-eating disorder, and chronic anhedonia – the inability to feel joy. James teaches us how to co-exist with your neurodivergence, while his productivity shows us how it can be deployed to your advantage. LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN:ADHD is a reason, never an excuse: understanding your condition gives you a lens to reframe your past, but it doesn't absolve you of responsibility. Consistent inconsistency is the reality:  with ADHD, you can be incredibly productive one day and unable to open your inbox the next. It’s a game of averages. Motivation often comes from fear, not passion: many with ADHD are driven by external deadlines and fear of letting others down rather than internal drive.You can create meaning without feeling joy: James proves that even without experiencing happiness, you can build a life of profound purpose and impact. Society fails neurodivergent people systematically: a third of male prisoners likely have ADHD. Early diagnosis and medication improve outcomes in every domain. The cost of not treating ADHD properly is £19 billion per year to the UK economy.Book:ADHD Unpacked https://www.amazon.co.uk/ADHD-Unpacked-Everything-survive-thrive/dp/1526679361Podcast: ADHD Adultshttps://theadhdadults.uk/

Richard Walker OBE could’ve stepped straight into the top job at Iceland Foods, but chose to prove himself first—building a property empire in Poland. But when his mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Richard decided it was time to be closer to the family unit and join the business, starting at the very bottom stacking shelves in London stores. Since then, he's transformed Iceland into one of Britain's most pioneering retailers, removing palm oil from all own-brand products, launching radical campaigns on plastic and food poverty, and proposing that low-risk offenders serve their sentences working in Iceland stores rather than taking up valuable space in prison. This is Richard’s Crisis Compass.

In this second episode in our AI mini-series I met with Professor Gary Marcus live at the RAID conference in Brussels. Gary has been writing code since he was 10, built a Latin translation program at 16, and became a professor of psychology and neuroscience at NYU. He's founded AI startups, testified before the US Senate, authored multiple books including his latest: Taming Silicon Valley: How to Protect Our Jobs, Safety, and Society in the Age of AI, meanwhile his Substack has over 80,000 subscribers who rely on him to cut through the hype. When he warned that AI was heading toward catastrophe, Sam Altman called him a troll. Gary argues that large language models are a glorified autocomplete that hallucinate constantly. He also reveals why "P Doom" (probability of AI ending humanity) is overblown, but "P Dystopia" is approaching 100%. He explains why GPT-5 disappointed everyone, and why he believes we're witnessing the greatest theft of intellectual property in history. This is the conversation Silicon Valley doesn't want you to hear.LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN FROM GARY:P Dystopia is far more dangerous than P Doom. Forget AI ending humanity. Focus on the real threat: universal surveillance states, free misinformation, and the collapse of trust in truth itself.Large language models don't understand the world, they just predict what words come next. That's why they still hallucinate constantly and, in Gary’s opinion, will never achieve AGI.We're witnessing “the greatest data heist in history”. AI companies are training on all copyrighted material without paying a penny, with the ultimate aim of replacing everyone - including you.Democracies are under threat from AI-powered misinformation. Generative AI is the "machine gun of disinformation" - making it faster, cheaper, and pitch-perfect.Critical thinking is the only defense. In a world where misinformation is free to generate, teaching kids to question everything - especially AI output - is the most important skill we can develop.Taming Silicon Valley: How to Protect Our Jobs, Safety, and Society in the Age of AIhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Taming-Silicon-Valley-Protect-Society/dp/0262551063His Substack Marcus on AI is available here:https://garymarcus.substack.com/

You’d think as the son of the founder Richard Walker OBE could have walked straight into the top job at Iceland Foods - the supermarket empire his parents built from a tiny shop in North Shropshire. Instead, he spent years building his own property empire in Poland, determined to prove himself on his own terms. But when his mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Richard decided it was time to be closer to the family unit and join the business, starting at the very bottom stacking shelves in London stores - the best year of his life, he claims. Since then, he's transformed Iceland into one of Britain's most pioneering retailers, removing palm oil from all own-brand products, launching radical campaigns on plastic and food poverty, and proposing that low-risk offenders serve their sentences working in Iceland stores rather than taking up valuable space in prison. This is a masterclass in how to earn respect, and use business as a platform for change.LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN:Never ever ever ever give up - originally Richard’s father’s mantra that carried Iceland through countless crises. When kicked out of his own company, he started a rival chain that became his ticket back in. Tenacity isn't just admirable - it's essential.Prove yourself from the bottom up - Richard spent a year stacking shelves to earn his right to lead. The privilege of family succession means nothing without the respect of 30,000 employees who need to see you're one of them.There's a difference between delegation and abdication - leading 30,000 people requires trusting an amazing team while keeping your eye on the details. Effective leadership is knowing when to step back and when to dive in.Get comfortable being uncomfortable - whether it's climbing Everest with failing eyesight, lying next to a dead body at 29,000 feet, or building a business from scratch in Poland where you don't speak the language, growth lives outside your comfort zone. Embrace the risk.Appreciate what you already have - Chasing unicorns (like becoming an MP) can blind you to the platform you already possess. Richard realised Iceland gave him more power to drive change than any backbench seat ever could.

Gratitude is a mindset. It’s a tool that when deployed in crisis can be essential for reframing your narrative and your understanding. How we find gratitude in crisis, however, is not always obvious, nor is it easy. In this special episode I’ve looked back into our archive to find five extraordinary and unique situations where gratitude has been the difference between despair and resilience.Today’s episode features important learnings from Strictly dancer Amy Dowden; celebrity chef Jon Watts; the late tech-founder and philanthropist Stephanie Shirley; self-help powerhouse Paul Mckenna; and Falklands veteran Simon Weston. LESSONS YOU’LL LEARN:Gratitude + passion = purpose. When you're thankful for something you love, that gratitude transforms into determination that can push you through unimaginable pain.When there's nothing else to be thankful for, clarity can be all you need - A hard truth is better than no truth. Knowing the boundaries of your crisis stops the spiral and gives you a place to start.Even the most devastating experiences can transform you for the better. Crisis can deliver a resilience dividend, dismantling what doesn't serve you and building something more meaningful in its place.Deliberately notice what you have, not what's missing. You get more of what you focus on. Gratitude retrains your brain to see abundance instead of lack during crisis.Be grateful for the chance to contribute. After losing everything, gratitude can simply be thankfulness for time and ability to make a difference. Learn to like yourself for that, not despite your scars.

Alex Goldie grew up walking on eggshells in a violent, alcohol-fueled household where he became the family peacemaker - literally throwing pillows into rooms to break up fights. Today, with 2.5 million followers and a bestselling book, Alex is a force in the digital and mental health space.This is Alex's Crisis Compass.

Alex Goldie grew up walking on eggshells in a violent, alcohol-fueled household where he became the family peacemaker - literally throwing pillows into rooms to break up fights. By his twenties, that traumatised child had become an anxious, procrastinating young man stuck in patterns he desperately wanted to break. Then COVID hit, he lost his job with British Airways, and from his lowest point, Alex turned to TikTok, making videos about mental health that weren't meant to go viral - but did. His honesty and raw emotion struck a nerve with millions who recognised their own struggles in his words. Today, with 2.5 million followers and a bestselling book, Alex has built his platform on a radical premise: his ultimate goal is to be unfollowed, because that means you've healed enough to move on without him.Five lessons you'll learn:Embarrassment is an unexplored emotion - some of the best things in life are on the other side of embarrassment. If you can be okay with being embarrassed, you can accomplish anything.You are not wedded to anyone - people can become walls that limit your creativity and growth. Set strong boundaries with those who hold you back, including family if necessary.Success is boring and mundane - real achievement isn't glamorous - it's doing small things consistently every day. Stop waiting for motivation and start taking steps, however tiny.Depression can't hit a moving target - the remedy to anxiety and depression is movement. Leave your house, experience weather, meet people, have real-life adventures instead of relying on convenience.Compare yourself only to yesterday's version - in this age of comparison, the only healthy benchmark is your own progress. Ask yourself: am I in a better place than I was yesterday?

In spring 2017, Robert Paylor seemed to be living a charmed life – starting for America’s top rugby programme, competing for a national championship for UC Berkeley, and on track for achieving a degree in business with an internship with Intel lined up for the summer. Few could have imagined that an illegal tackle during that year’s final would shatter his spine – and leave him instantly paralysed from the neck down.Doctors told him he’d never walk again. That he’d be lucky to feed himself. That his athletic future – and his life as he knew it – was over.But Robert had other ideas. An extraordinary man with an extraordinary story.Here is Robert's Crisis Compass.

Robert Paylor was living the dream - a star rugby player at UC Berkeley competing for a national championship with his future mapped out perfectly. Then an illegal tackle shattered his spine and left him paralysed from the neck down. Doctors told him he'd never so much as lift a piece of pizza to his mouth – let alone walk or play sport – that’s if he even survived the surgery. But Robert has a uniquely unbreakable mindset, and defied every medical prediction. Today he walks with support, is married to the love of his life, and has a baby on the way. This is a masterclass not only in perseverance and grit but in how to turn life’s most tragic moments into your greatest purpose. Paylor is proof that how we respond to crisis matters far more than the crisis itself.Five lessons you'll learn:Control your mindset, not your circumstances. You can't control what happens to you, but you always have complete control over your response. Your positivity and willingness to fight is entirely up to you.Seek discomfort before crisis hits. Don't wait for life to become challenging before you start challenging yourself. Build your resilient foundation when times are good so you can stand stronger when storms come.Forgiveness is for you, not them. Holding onto anger and hate only hurts yourself. Forgiveness isn't about relieving guilt from those who wronged you - it's about removing negative attachments from your own life.Reward effort over accomplishment. When going through adversity, focus on the work you're putting in rather than just the results you're achieving. Effort is the one thing you can always control.Use perspective as your superpower. When struggling, ask yourself "compared to what?" Look at those who have less rather than those who seemingly have more. Healthy comparison is the key to happiness and reframes every challenge.